Have you written your reflections on 2020? Whenever we encounter a season of life that has been particularly challenging, we like to reflect on what we’ve learned and make sure it has a positive ripple effect on our lives moving forward. So what have we learned? A lot.
Lesson #1: There’s no perfect time to do something challenging.
Someone once told us “If you wait to have kids until you’re financially and emotionally ready, then you’ll never have kids.” Same goes with any difficult endeavor — ehem….like rebranding your home care business. Yes, we chose the middle of a pandemic to rebrand our business, but we couldn’t be happier. Sometimes you just have to put blinders on and focus on the goal ahead. We have the best team of caregivers, and office support staff and we couldn’t have asked for a better transition. (Thank you to our entire team, our clients, vendors, community and our family for your support in the process.)
Lesson #2: Choose Joy.
When we were rebranding our business, we asked ourselves “If we had to describe in one sentence what we love about home care, what would it be?” Our answer? “We love bringing joy into the lives of others.” So even during this pandemic, we listened to our own hearts and remembered that bringing JOY to others is what is important. WE CHOSE JOY. If you can wake up every day, and choose to find the joy in your life, you will feel contentment. You will keep yourself centered. You will bring purpose to life and serve others well. We felt so strongly about this concept, we made it a core element of our re-brand.
Lesson #3: We need to get comfortable with getting uncomfortable.
Let’s face it, our reflections of 2020 include getting out of our comfort zone. Between the toilet paper shortages, mask debates, social unrest and the election, if you have not moved just a tiny bit out of your comfort zone, you are in the minority. If we had to guess, there’s probably not anyone out there that actually loves wearing a mask, but even just going to the grocery store in 2020 has forced all of us to make a decision about which side we’re on. 2020 has not just nudged us out of our comfort zone, it’s pulled the comfort zone rug out from under us. We have learned while that we don’t really like being out of our comfort zone, sometimes you just have to embrace it!
Lesson #4: Thinking about others makes life better.
One sure-fire way to forget all your own troubles is to think about someone else. Instead of looking in the mirror and feeling sorry for yourself, step away from it and look for others who need help. This is not only a distraction method, but can help ward off depression and make you feel better — physically, emotionally and mentally.
Lesson #5: We’re pretty lucky to be doing what we do.
First, our reflections of 2020 need to include a shout out to all of our frontline workers… the hospital staff and other healthcare workers dealing with COVID-19, the men and women in blue keeping the peace and, God bless them, the teachers and education professionals working diligently to keep our students on track. If 2020 has done one thing, it has reminded us how blessed we are to be in the industry we are in. While many family members are keeping their distance in order to protect older loved ones, The Nursing Team has forged ahead, taking every precaution necessary to keep our clients safe, but providing much needed interaction and companionship. This year has made us even more aware of the value we bring to each and every client, each and every day. We are so grateful for their continued trust and loyalty.
Lesson #6: This too shall pass.
If we never had difficult times, then the good times would not be so special. Ice cream wouldn’t taste so good if we didn’t eat salad every once in a while. Flowers in the springtime wouldn’t be so special if we didn’t have cold, dreary winters. Think about it. It’s true. 2020 has reminded us that no matter how challenging things may seem, they could always be worse — and they will get better. When this passes, think about how much more we will cherish hugging friends we meet, shaking hands with someone we run into at the store, hosting parties with more than a few people and dropping our kids off at school without masks. We can’t wait!
Lesson #7: Blessed to have a wonderful, supportive family
Our reflections of 2020 would not be complete without recognizing how lucky we are to have the family we have. In 2020, we have seen our two adult-ish children not only juggle college and junior/senior year of high school amidst this pandemic, but also take part in our business rebranding. We could not be more proud of them. Our extended families played important roles of support, one of them even leading the design of The Nursing Team through her own branding agency. If 2020 has taught us nothing else, it’s taught us that we are incredibly blessed with a loving family, great health and a hopeful future.
Thank you for your continued support of The Nursing Team. We are forever grateful for 2020 and can’t wait to see what the future holds.
Sincerely,
Tom and Kathleen Chastain
The Nursing Team Owners & Home Care Advocates
